FR2463036A1 - REMOTE CONTROL APPARATUS COMPRISING A MAIN ENGINE GROUP AND A CLOSED GROUP FOR TRANSPORTING CONTAMINATED MATERIALS - Google Patents

Abstract

THE INVENTION RELATES TO A REMOTE CONTROL APPARATUS, INCLUDING A MOTOR UNIT AND A SLACED UNIT, WHICH CAN MOVE UNITE ALONG A PREDETERMINED ROUTE TO TRANSPORT CONTAMINATED MATERIALS. SLAB GROUP 2 IS PLACED UNDER ENGINE GROUP 1 AND CAN MOVE IN TUNNEL 3 WITH WORKSTATIONS AT INTERVALS. WHEN THEY ARE EXCITED, THE ELECTRO-MAGNETS 20, 21, 22 OF THE MOTOR GROUP KEEP THE SLOWED GROUP 2 IN SUSPENSION IN TUNNEL 3 AND CONTROL ORGANS KEEP THIS GROUP 2 IN A DESIRED RELATIVE POSITION IN RELATION TO GROUP 1. A MAGNETICALLY TRANSPARENT MATERIAL (GLASS) SHAPES THE ROOF 5 OF THE TUNNEL AND INSULATES THE SLOWED GROUP 2 FROM THE MOTOR GROUP 1, SIMPLIFYING THE REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE OF THE UNCONTAMINATED GROUP 1. FIELD OF APPLICATION: TRANSPORT OF RADIOACTIVE OR TOXIC MATERIALS BY SLAVE GROUPS.

Description

The present invention relates to an apparatus for transporting

  objects along a predetermined path. The invention more particularly relates to a transport apparatus that can be remotely controlled and powered, and is suitable for operating in contaminated areas.

  For reasons of safety and health of the

  nel, it is customary to provide remote controlled equipment for handling and transporting toxic or radioactive materials. In a known remote control apparatus, the engine

  intended to move the material is exposed to contamination

  tion. It is therefore necessary to decontaminate the engine and the equipment associated with it before it can perform

  any maintenance or repair work.

  It has already been proposed a transport apparatus com-

  a carriage supported on a guide path and having a motor unit comprising suspended solenoid ("levitation") electromagnets and a linear motor. The

  electromagnets lift the carriage and, using transducers,

  regulators, control the height and position of the truck with respect to the guide path. The linear motor

  serves to propel the carriage along the guide path.

  In this known device, the levitation electromagnets and the drive motor are part of the truck and must, if the device is used to transport contaminated materials, be decontaminated. It will therefore be necessary to decontaminate

  the entire transport device before being able to

  hold or repair electromagnets and the control motor

or training.

  The present invention aims to propose a device

  of transport capable of handling or transporting

  contaminated parts, and in which the parts of the apparatus

  who are most likely to require ongoing maintenance of

  are not exposed to contamination.

  According to the present invention, it provides a transport apparatus comprising a main power unit and a slave unit that can move in unison along the

  predetermined path, the slave group being magnetically connected

  to the motor group and being physically isolated.

  Preferably, the slave group is disposed beyond

  UNDER the power unit and it is isolated by a magnetic wall

  it is transparent and can be made of glass. The wall can form the ceiling of a tunnel along which the slave group

  Can move between multiple workstations.

  Conveniently, the motor unit is guided and supported on a raceway or track and is provided with electromagnets and a regulating mount which monitors the positional relationship between the motor unit and the slave unit. . The slave group may have bands of one

  ferromagnetic matter which are attracted, -when the electro-

  magnets are excited, in order to keep the enslaved group in suspension in suspension, the separation and the position of the enslaved group relative to the power unit, and thus the magnetic forces generated by the electromagnets being controlled

  in response to signals from the regulation circuit.

  The invention will be described in more detail, by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a partial diagrammatic section of an embodiment of a transport apparatus in which the power units ( or command) and slave are superimposed; Figure 2 is a schematic longitudinal section of the motor or control and slave groups; FIG. 3 is a schematic longitudinal view of

control groups and enslaved.

  Referring to the figures, it can be seen that a transport apparatus comprises a motor or control unit 1 to which a slave group 2 is associated. The group 2 is located in a tunnel 3 of substantially rectangular section and which is formed of a U-shaped corridor 4 covered with a ceiling or flat roof 5 fixed, preferably in a sealed manner, to the corridor 4. A frame 6 of

  bracket overlaps tunnel 3 and carries rails 7 and

  Guiding minutes 71 for moving the motor unit 1.

  In the illustrated embodiment and by way of example only, the left side of the motor unit has an outwardly directed leg 8 and cooperates with a guide path 7.1 in which it slides, while the right side the power unit comprises spaced wheels 9 which roll on rails 7. The transport device can be housed in a shielded enclosure 10 for protection against radioactivity and that can be removed to gain access to the device

  to repair and maintain it.

  The slave group 2 comprises a light rigid frame whose upper plates 11 and lower 12 are connected by partitions 13 disposed near the opposite ends of the plates. A recess 14, substantially L-shaped, from each end of the upper plate to end

  approximately midway between plates 11 and 12.

  Each console 14 carries a device 15 for mounting between

  which piece, such as a nuclear fuel rod 16, can be removably mounted. In addition, the group 2 may comprise an auxiliary motor 17, conveniently a shunt motor

  DC powered by a battery of rechargeable batteries

  geable and intended to rotate the piece alone in one of the mounting devices 15. The motor 17 is remote-controlled

  by equipment located outside the tunnel 3.

  The control group 1, supported in such a way as to be able to

  moving along rails 7 and paths 71, can be

  Pulsed by a linear electric motor 18. Preferably, a synchronous linear motor with reduced reluctance can be used which can provide precise control at low speeds of displacement. The motor 18 is mounted on the control unit and comprises an aligned group of electromagnets cooperating with a series of passive poles incorporated in a monorail 19 located above the control group and which extends along the axis of the tunnel. Preferably, the separation step of

  electromagnets motor 18 is slightly greater than the space

  the passive poles of the monorail 19 in order to produce a vernier-type gear ratio. When energized, the electromagnets react with the poles of the monorail to propel the motor or control unit 1

  along the path or rail 7. The propulsion speed is

  corn. Alternatively, a mechanical device can be used,

  such as a pinion and a rack, to propel

be the motor group 1.

  The motor or control group 1 also comprises

  electromagnets that cooperate with ferromagnetic belts

  The electromagnets are conveniently arranged in three pairs, namely first and second pairs, 20 and 21 respectively, adjacent to the respective ends of the second group. motor group 1 and a third pair

  22 disposed approximately halfway along the power unit 1.

  The first and second pairs 20 and 21 are disposed on either side of the longitudinal axis of the engine group 1 and the opposite side to the third pair 22 (see Figure 3). Each terminal pair is placed in an opposite position eccentric to the axis of a respective ferromagnetic strip 23, 24 with

  which it cooperates and which is disposed on the assertion group

  vi 2 (see Figure 2). The bands are L-shaped, the electro--. magnets being arranged above the branch of the L

  parallel to the longitudinal axis of the motor group, a transducer

  25 being disposed above the other leg of the L-shaped strip. The transducers 25 detect the

  lateral offsets of the position of the slave group 2 and

  see signals for varying the relationship between the energy supplying the electromagnets of the first and second pairs to monitor and correct any lateral deviation of the position of the slave group 2 in the tunnel. A similar device serves to maintain the longitudinal position of the slave group 2. The electromagnets forming the third

  pair 22 are mounted on the motor unit 1 directly to the

  above but slightly over the ends of a band

  ferromagnetic associated 26 placed on the group assetvi 2.

  A control transducer 27 detects the position of a disk on the surface of the plate of the slave group and corrects any deviation of the slave group by an appropriate adjustment of the

  relationship between the power supply of each of the electro.

magnets of this pair 22.

  It is still necessary to provide a control to limit the upward movement of the slave group when the pairs of electromagnets are powered, so as to prevent the slave group comes into contact with the ceiling 5 of the tunnel. This order is made at

  using proximity detectors 28 that monitor the interval

  the between the electromagnets and the ferromagnetic bands associated with them on the slave group. The detectors

  feed a source controlling the energy

  the apparatus so that the weight of the enslaved group is

  counterbalanced by the electromagnetic force for

that there is a prescribed interval.

  As a result of the foregoing, it is possible to achieve and maintain a precise positional relationship between the control unit or motor and the slave unit. The slave group is magnetically connected or coupled so as to move with the power unit but is physically isolated in the tunnel 3. Bus bars (not shown) can be arranged to feed

  in electric current the various electromagnets.-

  The part 16 mounted on the group 2 can be moved between a number of workstations arranged along a path of movement and o various work and operations can be performed on the piece 16. Figure 1 shows

  a tool support 29 for performing a particular operation

  on room 16 at a workstation.

  It will be understood that the apparatus may comprise several

  associated motor and slave units that can move successfully

  endlessly along the device between an amount or support

  of an input tool and an output tool post or support.

  Storage facilities may exist at the entry and exit posts. The position of a motor group and a slave group, connected or magnetically coupled, when moving along the device can be monitored using a laser. Thus, each motor unit may comprise a triple mirror laser reflector arranged with. way to

  receive a laser beam projected along the device

  above the roof of the tunnel. The beam is reflected by the triple

  mirror, and the reflected beam can be directed by an interfering

  breaks into an interference fringe counter which records the variations of position of the reflector and therefore of the motor group. As the motor group is magnetically connected to the slave group, it is possible to accurately record the speed and the distance of the slave group with respect to a given position, the calculation of the speed, which comprises a count of the fringes with respect to time, being done

  electronically. By sending the signal indicating the speed

  in the control device of the linear motor, any deviation from a prescribed speed can be corrected

  moving the enslaved group along the tunnel. The distance

  this of each tool support with respect to the given position-

is known and constant.

  Advantageously, the tunnel and its roof are glass that can have a smooth surface easy to clean. In

  Alternatively, the tunnel may be made of ceramic materials.

  or natural mineral substances such as

  shale and granite and the glass roof.

  When the device is used for the transportation of

  radioactive materials, such as fuel rods or cartridges

  nuclear safety, it is necessary to protect personnel and protect them from radioactivity and other

  harmful emissions. The tunnel provides a certain degree of

  protection against residual contamination in this tunnel so that the main protective shield can be removed to provide access to the device. It is possible to carry out maintenance, repair and other operations on the power unit when it is outside the tunnel and is separated by the roof from inside the tunnel,

which can be contaminated ..

  In service, the slave group is kept in sus-

  pension in the tunnel when feeding or excites the electromagnets arranged on the bhoteur group and intended for this maintenance in suspension. The slave group is kept away from the tunnel walls by. the action of the transducers

  monitoring. The power unit is isolated by the roof

  genetically transparent, of the enslaved group and of

surround this one.

  It goes without saying that without departing from the scope of the invention,

  Many modifications can be made to the appa-

described and represented.

Claims (6)

  A transport apparatus comprising a motor unit and a servo unit that can move in unison. along a predetermined path and in which the slave unit is magnetically connected or coupled to the power unit, said apparatus being characterized in that the slave unit (2)   is physically separated from the power unit (1) by the intercalibration   barrier (5) of a magnetically transmissive material   kinship. 2. Transport apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the slave unit (2) is arranged to move along a tunnel (3) placed under the   motor unit (1) and whose barrier (5) constitutes the roof.   3. Transport apparatus according to claim 2,   characterized in that the barrier (5) is made of glass.   4. Transport apparatus according to any one of   preceding claims, characterized in that the group   enslaved (2) comprises ferromagnetic strips (23) engageable with electromagnets (20) mounted on the motor unit (1) to maintain in suspension: -or "levitation" the enslaved group (2).   5. Transport apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that i. l has a control device   (28) for keeping the slave group (2) in a posi-   desired suspension when the electromagnets-2p, 21, 22) are excited.   6. Transport apparatus according to any one of   preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises   a linear motor (18) for propelling the power unit (1).